The Oculus Quest is mainly being marketed as an all-in-one VR gaming system, but I see much potential for classroom lessons.

The Oculus Go delivered a VR view, but the Oculus Quest provides us with interactions.

One major difference between the Quest and the Go is the lack of motion sickness with the new device.

The 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) provides mobility for the student to walk forward, backward, left, right, jump up and squat down. In other words, they can move around just like they would in real life.

The affordable starting price of $399 for 64 GB is comparable to other classroom devices, such as Chromebooks, laptops and iPads.

between the Quest and the Go is the high cost of the apps. By contrast, the majority of my Oculus Go apps were free.

The Babson Survey Research Group, an organization that tracks online enrollment, notes that between 2012 and 2016 the percent of online enrollment in universities increased 17.2 percent while overall enrollment decreased.

Our school is transitioning from using Adobe Connect to using Zoom Meetings for synchronous online class sessions, of which most of our online courses schedule at least a few times each term. So after years of “controlling the user experience” with the Adobe Connect layouts and relying primarily on text chat, we are heading in the direction of screen sharing with the enhanced social and community-building experience of video “taking over” chat. Some people are very excited about this move, given the popularity and ease-of-use of the Zoom platforms. Other people are a little more wary – especially when it comes to large (e.g., 40 to 200+ students) classes.

Please share your thoughts and experiences on what faculty and students should be aware of when using Zoom Meetings (not the webinar) for a synchronous class session. Here’s some of the things I was curious about…

Do you have a set of “instructions” or recommendations for students — e.g. so they see the chat as it happens?

Are there any best practices in terms of meetings set-up that you recommend for your faculty? (Mute participants upon entry, always show meeting control bar, etc.)

Have there been some scenarios that have been fantastic or some that have been horrible for using Zoom?

Is there a class size where the number of participants starts negatively impacting the learning opportunity? (i.e., I realize Breakout rooms are an option but also not appropriate for all situations, such as having a guest speaker come in to have an interactive Q & A or having a software demonstration.)

Are there any major “fails” you’ve learned from or, alternately, success stories?

How Can Digital Audio Enhance Teaching and Learning?

Before there were podcasts, there was pirate radio, rogue broadcasters flinging unusual sounds over borders and adding new music to cultures. And before that there was the “theater of the mind,” harnessing radio’s deep power to inspire listeners’ imaginations.

Then we advanced to podcasting’s second wave—the one we’re enjoying now—the one sparked by Serial’s massive success in 2014. When you consider audiobooks in the mix, it’s clear how varied and mainstream portable digital audio is today.

Digital video has taken the world by storm. Netflix is busy changing television and movies. YouTube may be humanity’s largest collaborative cultural project, aggregating an astonishing amount of user-generated content. The Google-owned service is widely used that it may already soak up more than a third of all mobile traffic.

Unsurprisingly, we increasingly learn from digital video. The realm of informal learning is well represented on YouTube—from DIY instruction to guerrilla recordings of public speakers. Traditional colleges now rely on digital video, too, as campuses have established official channels and faculty regularly turn to YouTube for content. And new kinds of educational institutions have emerged, like the nonprofit Khan Academy,

We also explored the rise of teaching via live video. More colleges are using it for online learning, since it can make students and instructors more present to each other than most other media. We also saw videoconferencing’s usefulness in connecting students and faculty when separated by travel, illness or scheduling challenges.

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THE NEW PROFESSOR: HOW I PODCASTED MY WAY INTO STUDENTS’ LIVES (AND HOW YOU CAN, TOO)Wednesday April 03, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 1:45 PM Concurrent Session 1

Date: Wednesday, April 3rdTime: 3:30 PM to 4:15 PMConference Session: Concurrent Session 3Streamed sessionLead Presenter: Brian Kane (General Design LLC)Track: Research: Designs, Methods, and FindingsLocation: Juniper ASession Duration: 45minBrief Abstract:What happens when you apply design thinking to AI? AI presents a fundamental change in the way people interact with machines. By applying design thinking to the way AI is made and used, we can generate an unlimited amount of new ideas for products and experiences that people will love and use.https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/olc-innovate-2019-session-page/?session=6964&kwds=

Notes from the session:

design thinking: get out from old mental models. new narratives; get out of the sci fi movies.

narrative generators:

we need machines to make mistakes. Ai even more then traditional software.
Lessons learned: don’t replace people

Date: Thursday, April 4thTime: 8:45 AM to 9:30 AMConference Session: Concurrent Session 4Streamed sessionLead Presenter: Matt Crosslin (University of Texas at Arlington LINK Research Lab)Track: Experiential and Life-Long LearningLocation: Cottonwood 4-5Session Duration: 45minBrief Abstract:How can teachers utilize chatbots and artificial intelligence in ways that won’t remove humans out of the education picture? Using tools like Twine and Recast.AI chatobts, this session will focus on how to build adaptive content that allows learners to create their own heutagogical educational pathways based on individual needs.++++++++++++++++

Date: Thursday, April 4thTime: 3:45 PM to 5:00 PMStreamed sessionLead Presenter: Manoush Zomorodi (Stable Genius Productions)Track: N/ALocation: Adams BallroomSession Duration: 1hr 15minBrief Abstract:How can we ensure that students and educators thrive in increasingly digital environments, where change is the only constant? In this keynote, author and journalist Manoush Zomorodi shares her pioneering approach to researching the effects of technology on our behavior. Her unique brand of journalism includes deep-dive investigations into such timely topics as personal privacy, information overload, and the Attention Economy. These interactive multi-media experiments with tens of thousands of podcast listeners will inspire you to think creatively about how we use technology to educate and grow communities.Friday

Date: Friday, April 5thTime: 8:30 AM to 9:30 AMStreamed sessionLead Presenter: Michael Caulfield (Washington State University-Vancouver)Track: N/ALocation: Adams BallroomPosition: 2Session Duration: 60minBrief Abstract:Years ago, John Lyndon (then Johnny Rotten) sang that “anger is an energy.” And he was right, of course. Anger isn’t an emotion, like happiness or sadness. It’s a reaction, a swelling up of a confused urge. I’m a person profoundly uncomfortable with anger, but yet I’ve found in my professional career that often my most impactful work begins in a place of anger: anger against injustice, inequality, lies, or corruption. And often it is that anger that gives me the energy and endurance to make a difference, to move the mountains that need to be moved. In this talk I want to think through our uneasy relationship with anger; how it can be helpful, and how it can destroy us if we’re not careful.++++++++++++++++

Date: Friday, April 5thTime: 10:45 AM to 11:30 AMConference Session: Concurrent Session 10Streamed sessionLead Presenter: Laurie Daily (Augustana University)Co-presenter: Sharon Gray (Augustana University)Track: Problems, Processes, and PracticesLocation: Juniper ASession Duration: 45minBrief Abstract:The purpose of this session is to explore the implementation of a Community of Practice to support professional development, enhance online course and program development efforts, and to foster community and engagement between and among full and part time faculty.+++++++++++++++

interviewed administrators at systems across the United States for a wide look at how the landscape is shifting.

The University of Missouri System last year signaled plans to increase its total enrollment from 75,000 to 100,000 by 2023. Administrators pointed to online education as a key driver of future growth.

In other ways, the Missouri system’s approach could look similar to Massachusetts’. Administrators in Missouri are pondering the creation of a separate entity within the system that would offer online programs to adult learners.

Senior administrators and board members at Louisiana State University began looking at online education in the early 2010s.

From 2016 to 2018, Sasha Thackaberry served as assistant vice president of academic technology, course production and alternative learning models at Southern New Hampshire University. Louisiana State hired her in February 2018 to lead its online growth; three months later, she was promoted from associate vice provost to vice provost of digital and continuing education.

When Kristina Johnson became chancellor of the State University of New York system in 2017, she challenged administrators to consider a wide range of possibilities for growing online capabilities. According to Tod Laursen, SUNY’s senior vice chancellor and provost, the system has just wrapped up an information-gathering process that will inform a soon-to-be-released request for proposals. Johnson has slated for this fall a major online learning initiative, the details of which are still being ironed out.

Colorado State University Online serves as an online program manager for the state system — distinct from Colorado State University Global, which has a separate faculty and governance structure, and tends to serve adults at an average age in their 30s. CSU Online, by contrast, tends to serve “less seasoned” students between 24 and 34 years old, according to Amy Smith, senior director of CSU Online.

Challenges and Issues: A Conversation Regarding Micro-Credentials
Level: Foundational
Location: Cedar
Alternative Credentials are important to the future of understanding cradle-to-career opportunities in Professional Education. Institutions interested in considering the use of micro-credentialing face many challenges and issues. This session will be presented from the perspective of panelists who are dealing with the issues and challenges of alternative credentials. The panelists will suggest pathways for institutions to consider as they work toward cradle-to-career opportunities.

Anchor allows users to record and edit podcast episodes, all through an app on their cellphones. The service distributes and uploads episodes to streaming services, such as Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and provides analytics following publication.

“Traditionally, it’s write, write, write, write, write, and if you’re not a strong writer, you may start to think you’re not good at an English class in general.”

Podcasts that require scripts similarly encourage students to explore writing formats that stray from the traditional essay.

“When it’s just my eyes seeing it, it’s one-on-one and I’m the safety net,” Stevens said. “Even when you open it up to their classmates, they realize ‘OK, I’m going to be judged by them,’ and then you open it up to the internet. It’s a big deal.”

Last spring, cinematic arts and broadcast journalism teacher Michael Hernandez introduced his 11th and 12th graders to podcasting to teach them speaking skills that could be necessary for upcoming college or job interview.